Chapter 86: World-Annihilating Mill, Luo Hou Injured

Ancestral Dragon heard the words, stood silent on the spot. Indeed, people always come with answers to make choices, never expecting that he too would fall into cliché.

"Sorry."

Ancestral Dragon turned and left the Sea Eye, no longer waiting for Azure Dragon's reply, departing silently.

Azure Dragon remained silent in the Sea Eye, merely watching Ancestral Dragon's departing back.

The loss of the Dragon Clan's juniors was already anticipated; announcing it to the Wasteland was merely following the original plan, and they did not need to rely on such means to achieve their goal.

That should not be the style of the Dragon Clan, nor should it be Ancestral Dragon's conduct, just as his earlier retort implied: how could someone who does not keep the Wasteland in his heart convince others of his rule?

Mount Sumeru.

Luo Hou sat leaning against the Bodhi Tree, the divine light on his person resonating with the tree as the World-Annihilating Mill suddenly turned slightly, drawing his gaze.

"Another calamity approaches; how can the Wasteland be so beset by disasters? Is the impact of the Great Dao's departure truly this great?"

Luo Hou drew a strand of human dao qi fortune from heaven and earth and cast it into the World-Annihilating Mill.

Soon after, the World-Annihilating Mill became much damp, with water droplets clinging to the grindstone.

Luo Hou wiped the water away with his hand on the grindstone, feeling somewhat puzzled.

"Clearly the crisis is at the Immortal Volcano; why does it manifest in water vapor? Given the earlier Yunmeng Marsh incident, those water deities should not be causing trouble."

"Could it be coming from Chaos itself? Has the heavenly earth's membrane absorbed too much chaotic qi, transforming it into vapor? That defies reason."

"Moreover, the entire grindstone is damp; the calamity must therefore spread across the whole Wasteland, yet I have detected nothing in the West."

Luo Hou then drew a strand representing earth dao, the earth deity's qi fortune, and cast it into the World-Annihilating Mill; the result was no different from before.

"Just as before; it seems this calamity even reaches the earth."

This made Luo Hou more doubtful: what kind of calamity can affect both humanity and earth yet escape his notice?

"It seems the problem lies with the Heavenly Dao; otherwise I would have received some news."

Now only the Phoenix Clan can represent the Heavenly Dao's qi fortune, unfortunately their fortune is not easily gathered.

After a moment's hesitation, Luo Hou turned his gaze toward the Southern Continent, gathering divine power in his hand and lightly plucking in the air.

The phantom of the Immortal Volcano's variegated phoenix instantly became furious, viciously pecking at the outstretched hand, but before it could linger, the hand's phantom fled.

The shift in qi fortune instantly gave Yuan Huang awareness; she was within the Immortal Volcano and immediately rushed forth, discovering the fleeing phantom.

Unable to catch up, she could only exhale Yin and Yang Qi from her mouth, sweeping it fiercely at the phantom; though it struck, the phantom still escaped.

After a moment, Luo Hou's face turned pale, yet a phantom phoenix feather appeared in his grasped hand.

Luo Hou placed his hand before him and saw that his entire palm was drenched in fresh blood, divine blood continually dripping onto the earth.

Moments later, his whole hand seemed to lose color, turning ash‑white, and the phoenix feather in his hand fell to the ground.

Luo Hou tried to clench his fist, but felt that his whole hand had lost sensation, disappearing from his senses.

Even the divine blood flowing on his palm lost its hue, devoid of any vitality.

Though his hand was thus, Luo Hou felt no anger; he simply used his other hand to pick up the phoenix feather and cast it into the World-Annihilating Mill.

In his view, this was originally his own action; suffering this injury was therefore deserved, only he had not expected it to be Yuan Huang who struck.

Seeing that the wound on his hand did not recede, Luo Hou could only suppress it with divine power, stopping the divine blood from flowing, and said:

"These Yin and Yang Qi are truly hard to contend with; it seems we all underestimated Yuan Huang's strength—her cultivation now likely surpasses that of the Primordial Phoenix."

"But this is reasonable; after all, the Primordial Phoenix still must manage the Phoenix Clan's affairs, leaving her far less time for cultivation than Yuan Huang."

The World-Annihilating Mill kept turning, Luo Hou paying it no heed; the Phoenix Clan's qi fortune had solidified, needing only a result within ten thousand years, no rush for this moment.

What he most needs now is to enter seclusion for a period to dispel the harm Yuan Huang inflicted; fortunately, her cultivation is still shallow relative to him, otherwise this injury would be hard to treat.

As Luo Hou's silhouette vanished, only the sound of the World-Annihilating Mill turning continuously remained on Mount Sumeru.

Suddenly a baseless wind seemed to blow; the Bodhi Tree shuddered once, then returned to stillness.

Yunmeng Marsh.

Qi and Taiyi played a game of chess in the Heart-of-the-Pond Pavilion, the Dao rhythm flowing between their moves.

Now the Dao Chang holds only the two of them with nothing to do, so they can only pass the time playing chess here.

Qi's expression was light and carefree, while Taiyi's brow was tightly furrowed; chess inherently taxes the mind, and since he is unskilled at it, Qi pressed him step by step.

Whenever cornered, Taiyi could only gather more Dao rhythm to break the situation, but this is not a long‑term solution, as Qi's Dao cultivation is not much inferior to his.

Thus arose the scene of one relaxed and carefree, the other with a knotted brow.

"Taiyi, relying solely on brute force to break through, you probably won't last long under prolonged consumption."

Seeing Taiyi in that state, Qi could not help but tease.

Upon hearing this, Taiyi did not hesitate, scattered a handful of pieces, and conceded defeat.

"Qi, do not be overconfident; this is merely a minor art. If we truly clashed, comparing our Dao cultivation, I would surely win you."

Taiyi changed the subject, not wishing to linger on the game.

"Someone is angry from embarrassment; I won't say who—guess for yourself."

Qi's smile grew wider; though it is a minor art, the chance to beat Taiyi is slim, and if he does not seize this opportunity, it may become difficult later.

Taiyi gave Qi an annoyed glance, was about to speak, but suddenly looked elsewhere—toward the gate of Qi's Dao Chang.

Qi also sensed something; likewise gazing at the gate, a stream of light flew from afar, paused at the gate, transformed into a jade bead, and hovered in the air.

Bai Ling reached out both hands, took it, and flew toward the Heart-of-the-Pond Pavilion.

Qi and Taiyi ceased their teasing, wishing to see who had sent the message.

Bai Ling placed the jade bead on the stone platform, then slowly withdrew, returning to the gate, not lingering in the lotus pond.

He still had several immortal herbs awaiting his tasting; he did not want to linger in the lotus pond and thereby create unnecessary work for himself.

Having served long, he had accumulated much experience and come to understand many things; most of the time, as long as he does not appear before Qi and the others, he will not have extra work.

As long as he stays peacefully at the gate, his master might not summon him for a thousand years, allowing him to relax at ease.

PS: There is another chapter tonight.

(End of Chapter)